Ivan Putski
|birth_place= Kraków, Poland |death_date= |death_place= |resides= Buda, Texas |billed= Poland |trainer= |debut=1968 |retired=1987 }} Józef Bednarski (January 21, 1941), is a Polish former professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He is known by the ring name Ivan Putski and was given the nickname "The Polish Hammer". Putski is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion with Tito Santana. Ivan was known to have an ongoing feud with another professional at the time, "Superstar" Billy Graham over the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship, who also had an incredible physique and strength, which led to many pose-downs, arm wrestling bouts, and long, physical matches between the two. Other rivals included Iron Sheik, Ivan Koloff, and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Early life Putski was born in Kraków and migrated to the United States at a young age. He and his family arrived in Texas, where Putski began his professional wrestling career. He stood 5 ft 6 in and weighed around 225 lbs. In his earlier days, he was weighed in at the 250 lb mark. Professional wrestling Early career (1968–1974) Putski won the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship with Jose Lothario twice in 1973. Putski was a fixture on the Dallas-Ft. Worth wrestling scene and was one of its most popular personalities. He was routinely the feature act at The Sportatorium, a wrestling-only arena in an industrial section near Downtown Dallas. Putski's act consisted of being a happy-go-lucky, often aloof buffoon, who would "miraculously" pin his opponent. Putski was often introduced as a former concentration camp survivor, only adding to his sympathetic appeal to audiences of all ages. In mid-1974, Putski worked with the American Wrestling Association. Prior to leaving the AWA, Ivan dropped most of his weight by getting into bodybuilding. Ivan kept himself fairly trim at the 215 - 220 pound mark. World (Wide) Wrestling Federation (1974–1987) Putski debuted in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1974. While in the WWWF, Putski feuded with many wrestlers, including Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen and Ivan Koloff. On June 25, 1976 at Showdown at Shea, Putski defeated Baron Mikel Scicluna. Four years later on August 9, Putski was again victorious at the event's sequel, defeating Johnny Rodz. On October 22, 1979, Putski teamed with Tito Santana to defeat Johnny and Jerry Valiant to win the WWF World Tag Team Championship. They held the title for six months before losing it to The Wild Samoans. Putski worked in the renamed World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the 1980s, primarily feuding with Roddy Piper and Sgt. Slaughter. He took a hiatus from wrestling in 1986. He soon returned to the independent circuit, also making occasional appearances in the WWF as a jobber to the stars. His last high-profile feud was in 1984 with Jesse Ventura. His final appearance was in 1987 teaming on television with Junkyard Dog and Superstar Billy Graham in tag team matches. Other promotions (1981–1987) He began to slow down his career in the 1980s. He won his last tag team championship in May 1981, teaming with Wahoo McDaniel to defeat Dory Funk, Jr. and Larry Lane for the SWCW World Tag Team Championship. In November 1985, Randy Savage defeated Ivan Putski in the opening round of the Wrestling Classic. Return to WWF (1995) In 1995, Putski was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame by his son, Scott. The father-and-son team returned in July 1997 to defeat Jerry Lawler and Brian Christopher on Raw is War, in what would be Putski's final match. International Championship Wrestling (1996) After his run in the WWF, several promotions, and his semi-retirement, Putski returned to the ring in the 1990s. In 1996, he joined International Championship Wrestling, as a face. He won several matches in the company, and he was billed as a tough guy. Although he never won a championship of ICW. Retirement After work for several wrestling promotions, mostly, from the independent circuit, Putski retired from full active competition in the decade of the 1990s. After his retirement from wrestling, he had a strongman career. Putski occasionally made appearances in the ring during the years. In 2010, Putski appeared in a reunion event called "LegendsMania" and he was interviewed. Strongman career Aside from wrestling, Ivan Putski also competed as a strongman. He participated in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition, finishing eighth in a field of ten competitors. He gained his remarkable leg strength by running up and down the stands at a football stadium near his home in Austin, Texas. Personal life Putski's son, Scott Putski, is also a professional wrestler, having previously worked at World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. However, Scott did not share the same success that Ivan once had. From 2000 to 2007, Putski worked as head security guard at Jack C. Hays High School in Buda, Texas. On January 8, 2012, Ivan Putski was inducted into the Cloverleaf Radio Hall of Fame, Class of 2012. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Polish Hammer'' *'Signature moves' **Bearhug **Headlock **Scoop powerslam **Vertical suplex *'Nicknames' **"Polish Power" Championships and accomplishments *'Big Time Wrestling' **NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jose Lothario **NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jose Lothario *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **PWI Tag Team of the Year (1979) with Tito Santana **PWI ranked him #'170' of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 **PWI ranked him #'92' of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Tito Santana in 2003 *'Southwest Championship Wrestling' **SCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Wahoo McDaniel *'World Wrestling Federation' **WWF Hall of Fame (Class of 1995) **WWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tito Santana *'Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards' **Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (1984) **Worst Wrestler (1984) External links * WWE.com Profile * Profile Category:Polish wrestlers Category:WWE Hall of Fame inductees Category:Bodybuilders Category:1941 births Category:1968 debuts Category:1987 retirements Category:American Wrestling Association alumni Category:Championship Wrestling From Florida alumni Category:Georgia Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Global Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Houston Wrestling alumni Category:International World Class Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Lutte Internationale alumni Category:National Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:NWA Big Time Wrestling alumni Category:Southwest Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) alumni Category:World Class Wrestling Association alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:WWE World Tag Team Champions Category:Living people Category:Male wrestlers